Sooooo……..I’m flying to Costa Rica—in and out in 24 hours Why? Because the CEO of a company I’m working with lives there. And sometimes, face time really does matter.

Sure, we live in a remote-first, Slack-pinging, Zoom-layered world. And yes, I’m a fan of the flexibility it brings. But when you need to hammer out a positioning deck, distill the soul of a brand, and noodle on every word until it sings—nothing beats being in the same room.

When I sit side by side with someone and a whiteboard, I feel a different kind of creative energy. I sense hesitation behind a word choice. I catch the glimmer in someone’s eyes when something clicks. And over a shared meal, trust builds faster than it ever could on a 55-minute video call. There’s no “you’re on mute” or disappearing mid-sentence because the Wi-Fi gave up. Just real conversation and unfiltered reactions—with no clock ticking down.

Remote work advocates aren’t wrong—studies show it boosts productivity and work-life balance. (Trust me, I love working in leggings.) But as companies like Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce lean into hybrid models, the debate continues:

👉 Do we need to be together (aka face time) to do our best work?

My answer: Not always. But sometimes, absolutely. Especially when you’re building something that requires nuance, trust, and vision alignment. ⚡

At Narvar, we flew the entire (remote) company in for a “Gathers” event a few times a year—and magic happened. Now, as I help CEOs articulate their narrative, I’ll jump on a plane when it counts.

So why not stay longer and bask in Costa Rica’s sunshine?

Because I have kids. And I’m taking my daughter to see her brother perform in Annie this Friday night. No strategy session or beach jog trumps a kid playing Daddy Warbucks in a bald cap singing “Tomorrow.”

To offset the carbon footprint of this whirlwind trip, my household is cutting back on animal protein. It’s an easy tradeoff. I’ll take in-person clinks and tofu over Slack steaks any day.